Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu Manuscripts in the Hyderabad Museum

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Hyderabad Museum possesses a rich collection of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu Manuscripts. An Exhibition of Hyderabad Art and Archaeology, inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Pershad, President of India, was held at the Hyderabad House, New Delhi, in April, 1952, where some rare illuminated Mss. of the Hyderabad Museum were exhibited. The exhibition aroused interest in lovers of art and culture and won the approbation of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Minister of Education and Archaeology, Government of India.

Out of the collection of Mss. I have so far catalogued 117. These Mss. (Arabic, Persian, and Urdu) are very important from their artistic, calligraphic and historical points of view. They are handsomely illuminated and adorned with beautiful miniatures. The delicate and intricate designs in mineral colours display a high water-mark of artistic taste and aesthetic sense. They represent Küfi, Naskh, Thulth. Nasta'liq, etc. styles of writing. Almost all of them show a high standard of calligraphy. Some of them have been written by well-known calligraphers, like 'Imad'ul Husaini, Sultan 'Ali Mashhadi, Ahmad Nairaizi, Ab 'Abdu'l Karim, the great-grandson of 'Imadu'l Husaini, Khwaja Abdu'llah Şairafı, Muhammad Şalih and Muhammad Na'imul Husaini, Isfahani. Among Mss. of a historical value mention may be made of Ziyarat Nama (p. 2621), bearing the autograph of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah of Golconda, (1611-1626 A.D.) and Raudat'ush-Shuhada (P. 2624), which is from Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah's library (1626-1672 A.D.), bearing his name in bold gold letters at the end.

From a literary point of view also the works of great Oriential writers, like Firdausī, Rūmi, Jamī, Nizamī, Sa'di and Hafiz, deserve special mention.

This Catalogue comes as the first of the series of Mss. Catalogues. The work of The work of cataloguing the rest of the Mss. could not be undertaken for want of time, due to multifarious duties and heavy office work. Efforts will, however, be made to catalogue the remaining Mss., time permitting.

In publishing this Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu Manuscripts is in the the Hyderabad Museum, I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mohd. Yus Yusufuddin, M.A., of the Osmania University for the Introduction, which he readily consented to write and also for his invaluable help in various other ways. Mr. Mohammad Ghause, who compiled this Catalogue, is a rising young scholar of this department. It is earnestly hoped that, before long, this department will be able to bring out a Catalogue of all other Manuscripts in this section.

India is standing at the threshold of a new era. It is time for her to rise equal to the occasion and play her part in keeping with her heritage. The need has also arisen to establish closer political, commercial and cultural relations with the outside world. For this purpose India will have to adopt measures similar to those taken in other progressive countries. A close examination of the educational systems of Western democracies as well as the systems obtaining in the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.-the leading States of the modern world-will disclose that the maintenance of Oriental Museums, Institutions and Schools of Oriental and Islamic studies is an essential feature of the foreign and cultural policy pursued by them.

The establishing of Oriental Museums and the founding in- Universities in U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Great Britain, Holland, France and Germany of a number of chairs in Oriental Languages, Religions, Philosophy and Archaeology is an evidence again of the advanced view they take of culture and civilization.

The museums play an important role in developing Oriental Studies in this country by attracting foreign scholars and in particular by fostering public interest in Oriental Culture.

Long ago, the British Museum published a detailed Catalogue of Manuscripts in Arabic and Persian. A few years back the United States of America got through UNESCO the services of an able Iraqian, Mr. Jurjis Awad, the Chief Librarian of Iraq Museum, who made a tour of America and published a Catalogue of rare Arabic Mss., preserved in the various museums and libraries of U.S.A.

The Turkish Government is also publishing in instalments a Catalogue of rare Arabic, Persian and Turkish Manuscripts. For centuries Hyderabad has remained an important centre of Eastern Culture. There are here public and private libraries and museums which contain priceless specimens of art and paintings and precious Mss., 'more precious than ruby and gold.'